Page 33 - 2Q2017 Reporter
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The BackPage
Sustainability, Social Norms &
Grandma’s Wrath
Melody by Melody LaMar, Business Manager
LaMar mlamar@ilfi.org
Sustainability means different things to social responsibility. Small local businesses to
different people. At the League, we apply principles multinationals recognize that it is in their best interest
recognizing return on our investments, the wise use to include social responsibly policies because a
of our resources and the well-being of our employees, growing percentage of consumers support them.
membership and partners. It’s basically being mindful Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of “sarvodaya” called for
of all the aspects of the organization from inside-out the end of poverty in his country through improved
and making decisions that will give us better results methods of agriculture and small-scale cottage
as time goes on. industries to create self-sufficiency without hindering
The League doesn’t manufacture widgets; our others and operating in harmony with nature. You
product is membership services. We strive to be could say Gandhi was the original “Buy Local”
a relevant and sustainable operation, consistently proponent. These three examples of sustainability
seeking and employing cost saving measures. Some may be rooted in different ideas, but the one thing in
are in the daily operations of running the League’s common is they all have an economic consequence.
business and others are scouting ways to reduce Our vernacular is chalked full of old adages
costs at meetings, seminars and events. That’s how like waste not, want not; a penny saved is a penny
we keep a sustainable operation afloat and strive to earned. If we can all agree that pennies add up,
stay relevant in a world where frugality, minimalism can’t we apply the same logic that so do wasteful
and social responsibly is challenging the status quo. practices of any kind?
Sustainability has far reaching implications Whether measuring sustainability from a cost
and its various methods are often applied based savings approach or one of altruism, the concepts
on the needs or ideals of the practitioner. For and practices are now threaded throughout our
Teddy Roosevelt, it meant conservation through social and business culture. Incorporating some
protection and sustainable use. The protection of aspect of “green” is shown to capture the attention
230 million acres to include refuges, national parks of millennials. Retailers to bankers are noticing
and monuments ultimately led to the creation of the the value of sustainable practices and social
National Parks Service (NPS). The NPS recorded responsibility as consumers are increasingly making
more than 305 million visits during 2015. Just think, decisions based in part on those. The world is
if every person spent $10 (and it’s safe to say that’s complex and not one single solution exists, but the
a very low number), a 7-day trip per person based reality is the consumer has choices.
on that would generate more than $21 trillion a year. As a young girl, I spent part of my summers in
Wal-Mart’s migration into sustainable practices Illinois with my grandmother. She was of little means,
was based on cost savings. Their supply chain but as a kid it never occurred to me because she was
management system has become a worldwide model, so abundantly generous in spirit and love. That spirit
but they didn’t stop there. Sam’s Club and Wal- was undeniably omnipresent if I got caught wasting
Mart are responding to customer trends demanding the flesh of a strawberry while removing the stem, or
more organics and the desire to buy local products. tossing a perfectly good sheet of aluminum foil that
Defining “local” is a debate of its own not to be could be rinsed and used again. Ida LaMar was a
delved into here. But the point, is that businesses pioneer of reuse and repurpose by necessity. I see
are responding to the growing demand for corporate that as a conservative practice to be admired.
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Second Quarter 2017 IllInoIs RepoRteR
